Send invoices immediately - Why wait until the end of the month to send invoices when you can invoice as soon as a job is completed. If you wait 15 days to invoice you've already lost 15 days when you could have had the money in your account. Businesses need to be paid as soon as possible, so why wait unnecessarily.

Using online software – The benefit of online software to send invoices is that you can invoice your customers when ever and where ever. In addition, you have the security that all your invoicing information is safe and secure.

Provide a detailed description - All invoices provide a field to write a description of the work you are invoicing for. Not only does fully completing this give customers a feeling of value for money, but it can prevent payment disputes - whether to simply delay payment or due to confusion over what is being invoiced for.

The article posted on the FT’s website describes the ways in which businesses can increase their profitability and customer base by either spending no money at all or by investing in new software or in consultancy services. The article focuses on how important it is that those in charge of the business realise how vital, and very often how simple, it is to make your business more profitable, without spending overwhelming amounts of money on for example hiring new members of staff.

The ways proposed by the article, which many tend to overlook or forget about, include ensuring that existing customers return to buy more by developing long lasting customer relationships, rather than adopting a trade as you go approach. This can be achieved by outsourcing to specialist companies those areas of business that you feel you can squeeze more out of, using their expertise.